Axel Formerly Of The Arie - Servant Of The Raven Queen
Backstory Axel was born on the forest floor, the blood from his mothers thighs dripped on his belly as he lay there between her legs, head opposite to hers. The crossbow bolt that had pierced his mothers chest had not killed her right away, she had managed to stumble through the forest, clutching her belly, desperate with her few breaths, the last few steps, she would save her babe from the bandits clutches. The bandits that had attacked the pilgrimage group had done so mercilessly, a death cloud of arrows had made any resistance left to the bandit cavalry charge a simple task to dispose of. The Bandits chased down all who ran, bringing them down with crossbows as they fled in terror. One bandit saw an elf maiden running, almost near the edge of the Dark Wood, the bandit hesitated, not for any love of the elf, but at the amusing thought of what she might encounter in that magical forest, still, he had orders he thought, as he let lose his crossbow bolt. The severvent of the Raven Queen, a spirit in the form of a raven, made its way towards the Elf mother, lying dead on the ground. She had been a devout worshiper of Sehanine Moonbow, a friend to the Raven Queen, and truth be told, she owed Sehanine for the assistance she had provided in her recent dealings with the Spider Queen, Lolth. In return the Raven Queen had guaranteed that this devout soul would make it to a place of peace and rest. The servant of The Raven Queen saw the babe laying on the cold, wet forest floor, blood from its mother had begun to pool around his infant form. The babe did not cry, he lay still as if waiting or simply, watching. What the servant saw the Queen knew, and for a moment she paid attention, a small mark appeared, on the inside of the babes half elven ear, a mark of The Raven Queen. Jorgan, an old ranger for Rillifane Rallathil, was guided to this grove in the Dark Wood. He had thought it would be to push back a dark creature that had made it’s way from Shadowfell, a realm that had long since established roots in the Dark Wood, corrupting it, it was all Jorgan and his fellow rangers could do to keep it at bay. So it was a shock to Jorgan, when he found the Elf maiden, slain by an arrow through the chest, and the babe, he hadn’t expected to find a babe. Jorgan did not know what to do with a newborn, he had been raised in the woods, but his nomad mother had left long ago, she helped him find his path, and let him walk it on his own. So Jorgan did what he thought would be best for the babe, he delivered it to a friend of his, a paladin of Torm who had started an orphanage, an ex adventuring companion. Avala Brightsong, had adventured in her early years, her longsword, still gleaming, sat resting now over the fireplace of the orphanage, it watched over her children when she could not. But she had been home the night her old friend Jorgan had come to her door seeking help. Of course she had taken the child, the poor poor frail, tall and lanky baby. The dark green eyes that starred, questioning, everything. Avala Brightsong was a great mother to her children, but she had many demands on her still, even in retirement, soon after the half-elf child had been taken in by the orphanage, Avala had been called to her duties at the capital, and left the orphanage in the care of her charges, she took her sword, a decision she regrets still. In this darkest of nights, where the servants of Kiaransalee operate, came the man they called Jest. Jest was the collector, he brought the children to the Dark One, the necromancer who had named himself so, what hubris, the Dark One, even when he thought the name Jest snickered, but this night, he was quite, as he snuck in through the the magic portal he had created with her blessings, in the side of the orphanage building. Jest, knew, thanks to her guidance, that Avala had left the orphanage this night. He made his way down the orphanage sleeping quarters, silent as the night, he passed the beds of the children who had learned to walk, and talk, he needed fresh minds to mold, as he passed the cribs, with the sleeping children, he stopped at the one who’s eyes peered at him through the night, Darkvision, this babe belonged to the night, Jest knew. Jest and the Dark One had been working these last 18 years on the organization they had named, the Arie, they had collected children, mostly Jest’s work, and begun to train them, Jest was skilled with martial weapons as well as stealth, and that was the knowledge he passed on to the children they had collected. The Dark One, who had taken on another name, Jest snickered, the name of Zen, taught the children about the Gods, but he warped reality to his benefit, Kiaransalee was a necessity, he lied, she was your guiding force in the night, and she needed you to sacrifice those she chose to her will. The Children of the Arie where taught to kill, taught to worship, forced to fight, tested at night, this is the life of children of the Arie. Each kill was to be made with a sacrificial dagger, the dagger was part of the lie, in truth, the souls of the dead where being captured by Kiaransalee as she fuled her army of Undead. On his 15th day name day, Axel was to take his pledge and be given a name, through worship he would have the name delivered to him and his path would be known to him. This again was manipulation by the Dark One, he would enter the young boys minds as they worshiped and embed his dark thoughts even further, bending the boys to the will of Kiaransalee. But the Raven Queen had never stopped watching, yes this young one would serve her well. The Raven Queen fooled the Dark One into believing he had succeeded with this child as he had with the others, but it was she; The Raven Queen, that gave Axel his name, and protected his mind from the dark will of Kiaransalee. “Axel’, I did not know the name until I took the pledge, and earned a name. I remember it still, as the words left my mouth. I am a Child of the Arie, I will worship, I will fight, I will kill, the night be my light, this is the life of children of the Arie. The name had come to me and I had been filled with a sense of hope I had never felt in my life, a sense of purpose, I had….guidance”. On the night of Axel’s first kill, as he crept through the dark corridors of his first sacrifice, the Raven Queen had come to Axel and granted him her Holy blessing, and removed the brainwashing done by the Dark One and removed the curse from the sacrificial dagger, the truth was known to him in one painful wave of knowledge. The Dark Queen, with her blessings, sent Axel along a new path, to bring down the Arie. Although Axel was gifted, and able to defeat his former brothers, in combat, all of which had long since lost their will to Kiaransalee, and could not be made to see the truth, he was no match for Jest, who left him bloodied and near death. To escape with his life, Axel jumped from a tower window and plummeted to the river below, with his last breath, Axel sought guidance, and for the first time, he healed himself, and swam to the river bank. The Arie had not been destroyed, but it had lost it’s assassins and that was a blow that would take time to recover from. Axel, now worships The Raven Queen, delivering death, as a part of the natural order. His war with Kiaransalee and the Arie continues.